2013 Susan G. Komen Brinker Awardees For Scientific Distinction

SAN ANTONIO – Dec. 11, 2013 – A Mayo Clinic oncologist and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center researcher are being honored today at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium as this year’s recipients of the prestigious Susan G. Komen® Brinker Awards for Scientific Distinction in Basic Science and Clinical Research.

This year’s awards will be presented to Edith A. Perez, M.D., Deputy Director at Large of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, and Gordon B. Mills, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Systems Biology at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. Both are presenting keynote lectures at the San Antonio conference today.

Perez is receiving the Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction in Clinical Research for her contributions to the field of breast cancer treatment, which have helped to shape the standard of care for breast cancer patients globally. Dr. Perez has led a wide range of translational clinical trials testing new therapeutic agents for the treatment and prevention of breast cancer.

Mills is receiving the Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction in Basic Science for his significant contributions in advancingunderstanding of key processes that drive breast cancer’s initiation, progression and response to therapy.

Komen’s Chief Scientific Advisors Dr. Eric Winer and Dr. George Sledge are presenting the awards to Perez and Mills at a reception this evening, along with Komen Chief Mission Officer Chandini Portteus.

Sledge praised Perez for her leadership in clinic research. “She is a dedicated, insightful and tireless researcher,” he said.

Said Winer: "Dr. Mills is a giant in the field of breast cancer translational research. His research is both creative and prolific."

Komen has invested more than $800 million in breast cancer research since opening its doors in 1982, and is the largest non-profit funder of breast cancer research outside of the U.S. government, currently funding more than 500 research grants worldwide.

The Brinker Awards for Scientific Distinction were established in 1992 to recognize the efforts of pioneers in two critically important areas of the fight to end breast cancer: Clinical Research and Basic Science. The roster of Komen Brinker Award laureates has grown to include names of researchers who have made the most significant advances in breast cancer research and medicine.